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William T. Coleman Jr. '43 named 2013 Harvard Medalist

HLS News - 22 hours ago

William Thaddeus Coleman Jr. ’43 will receive the 2013 Harvard Medal from the Harvard Alumni Association for his extraordinary service to the University. Coleman, who was recognized along with James V. Baker A.B. ’68, M.B.A. ’71 and Georgene Botyos Herschbach Ph.D. ’69, will receive the award during the HAA’s annual meeting on Commencement day, May 30.

Fried in The New York Times: Stolen property, not free speech

HLS News - yesterday

In the May 21 edition of The New York Times’ ‘Room for Debate,’ Harvard Law School Professor Charles Fried considers the question of whether the Obama administration’s actions against journalists in leak inquiries has protected national security or violated the First Amendment.

Tomiko Brown-Nagin discusses the new Law and History Program of Study at HLS

HLS News - May 17

This semester, Harvard Law School launched the Law and History program of study, which is headed by two faculty leaders: Professor Tomiko Brown-Nagin, who is also a Professor of History in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and Professor Kenneth Mack. In a Q&A, Brown-Nagin discusses the origins and goals of the new program of study as well as her own scholarship.

Access to Justice: After 'Gideon' (video)

HLS News - May 16

Fifty years after the Supreme Court determined in Gideon v. Wainwright that criminal defendants must be provided with counsel, scholars and practitioners from around the country grappled with continued limits on access to justice during an Harvard Law School conference in April titled “Toward a Civil Gideon: The Future of Legal Services.”

Jackson and Tushnet discuss new book on constitutional law (video)

HLS News - May 16

In April, Harvard Law School Professor Mark Tushnet, a specialist in constitutional law and theory, was interviewed by his colleague and former collaborator Vicki Jackson on the new book “Routledge Handbook of Constitutional Law” (Routledge 2012). Tushnet co-edited the book with Thomas Fleiner and Cheryl Sanders.  

From a clinical to a judicial appointment: A Q&A with Gloria Tan

HLS News - May 9

In March, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick ’82 nominated Harvard Law School’s Criminal Justice Institute clinical instructor Gloria Tan to a seat on the Massachusetts Juvenile Court. Tan came to CJI, which supervises third-year law students representing indigent criminal defendants in local district and juvenile courts, after serving as a public defender for the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Boston. When a spot opened up on CPCS's Youth Advocacy Project, Tan switched to working on juvenile ...

In virtual classroom, law students at Harvard and in China consider the roles of China and the U.S.

HLS News - May 9

It’s Wednesday night in Cambridge and Thursday morning in Beijing, and their seminar rooms are some 6,700 miles apart, but for 30 students from Harvard Law School and the Renmin University of China School of Law, common interests and videoconferencing equipment easily bridge these distances. During this spring semester, students in a reading group taught by HLS Professor William P. Alford and an advanced negotiation skills class taught by Renmin Assistant Professor Alonzo Emery ’10 have come together ...

IP experts and judges convene at HLS to discuss developments in intellectual property laws

HLS News - May 9

The biennial Harvard Law School Conference on Intellectual Property Law attracted scores of IP lawyers, business people, academicians, and judges to the school April 12 to discuss recent developments in IP law.

Suk receives intellectual diversity award

HLS News - May 9

Harvard Law School Professor Jeannie Suk '02 received the Charles Fried Intellectual Diversity Award from the Harvard Federalist Society in April. The award is bestowed upon a faculty member who has furthered the cause of intellectual diversity and free and open debate at Harvard Law School, both inside and outside of the classroom, regardless of that professor's ideological leanings or favored theories of jurisprudence.

Tribe offers predictions on gay marriage rulings

HLS News - May 8

Two cases regarding gay marriage, Hollingsworth v. Perry (challenging California’s Proposition 8) and United States v. Windsor (challenging the Defense of Marriage Act), were argued this term in front of the Supreme Court. The Justices are expected to reach a ruling by July 2013. In light of these arguments, The Harvard Law Bulletin asked Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe '66 to offer some predictions for how the two cases might be decided.

Gasser appointed professor of practice

HLS News - May 6

Harvard Law School has announced the appointment of Urs Gasser LL.M. ’03, executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, as a Professor of Practice.

Harvard Law study finds legal fractures in chemical disclosure laws

HLS News - May 3

A registry intended to provide information to the public about the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing is not an acceptable regulatory measure, according to a recently released report by Harvard Law School’s Environmental Law Program Policy Initiative.

Richard Lazarus: "Environmental law has fallen 'in arrears'" (video)

HLS News - May 3

Environmental lawlessness was the topic of discussion on April 10, as Richard Lazarus ’79, one of the nation’s foremost experts on environmental law, gave a lecture marking his appointment to the Howard J. and Katherine W. Aibel Professorship of Law.

Advocating for the rule of law in Belarus

HLS News - May 1

Like others in Harvard Law School’s LL.M. class of 2013, Maryna Kavaleuskaya practiced law abroad before coming to America for additional legal training. And, like many of her 187 classmates—most of them from overseas—she had to overcome obstacles along the way. But unlike most others, Kavaleuskaya will be unable to return to a normal life back home after she receives her Harvard degree.

Clinic students secure asylum for indigenous survivors of persecution in Guatemala

HLS News - May 1

Last month, as an historic trial continued in Guatemala against a former dictator charged with the genocide of indigenous Mayans, Lauren Herman ’13—a student in the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic (HIRC) —stood in court in Boston as a judge announced he was granting asylum to her Mayan client, who, with his family, had suffered persecution for decades before he came to the U.S. in 2009.

Manning elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

HLS News - Apr 30

John F. Manning ’85, the Bruce Bromley Professor of Law at Harvard, and an expert in administrative law, statutory interpretation, separation of powers law and the federal courts, has been elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

A fellowship of public interest: Harvard Law Students receive support to work in public service

HLS News - Apr 26

Each year, students at Harvard Law School receive a number of impressive fellowships and scholarships to work in the public sector and on research projects in foreign countries. 

Confronting evil, embracing life

HLS News - Apr 24

The manhunt for a bombing suspect shut down the Boston area on Friday. With Harvard temporarily closed, a pair of two-day scholarly conferences had to be compressed into Saturday alone. But by chance, both provided perspective on the area’s brush with terror.

For second year in a row, Harvard Law School wins regional WTO moot court

HLS News - Apr 24

For the second year in a row, a team of Harvard Law School students won the North American regional moot court competition on WTO law at the ELSA Moot Court Competition (EMC²). The second annual competition was held in San Jose, Costa Rica and was organized in cooperation with the Costa Rican Society of International Law.

Associate White House Counsel Kathleen Hartnett '00 reflects on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

HLS News - Apr 23

As the gay rights movement continues to gain momentum, it's easy to forget just how recently the tides of change were moving in the opposite direction, Associate White House Counsel Kathleen Hartnett '00 said at an April 11 talk at Harvard Law School, hosted by the Harvard chapter of the American Constitution Society.

SAFETY ADVISORY UPDATE

HLS News - Apr 19

Because of the public safety emergency in the surrounding communities, Harvard University has announced that all classes and events scheduled at HLS for today have been cancelled, and all administrative offices will be closed. Staff and students who live off-campus are advised not to travel to campus, for safety reasons, until further notice. Everyone is advised to remain indoors and follow all official broadcast public safety advisories.

Advanced Negotiation students advise Major League Baseball executives

HLS News - Apr 18

This year, Clinical Professor Robert Bordone ‘97, director of the Harvard Negotiation and Mediation Clinical Program (HNMCP), developed a capstone consulting project with Major League Baseball (MLB) for his course “Advanced Negotiation: Multiparty Negotiation, Group Decision Making, and Teams,” co-taught with Lecturer on Law Rory Van Loo ’07. MLB tasked the class with providing strategic advice for an upcoming negotiation aimed at the implementation of an international amateur draft. Six teams of ...

Blum, Feldman weigh in on aftermath of Boston Marathon bombings

HLS News - Apr 17

In the wake of Monday’s Boston Marathon bombings, experts across Harvard University analyzed the puzzle and potential of the attack’s aftermath.

Ken Burns offers preview of 'Central Park Five' at HLS (video)

HLS News - Apr 17

On March 12 at Harvard Law School, award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns joined Harvard Law School Professor Charles Ogletree and two Central Park Five members for a film screening and panel discussion of his new documentary “The Central Park Five,” which tells the story of five Black and Latino teenagers who were wrongly convicted of raping and beating a white woman in New York City’s Central Park in 1989. The event was co-sponsored by Harvard Law School’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & ...

A question of balance: intellectual diversity in legal education (video)

HLS News - Apr 16

At Harvard Law School on April 5, a panel of four leading legal scholars examined a single question: Is there a lack of intellectual diversity at law schools?

The role of media in the U.S. political system: A Panel at Harvard Law School

HLS News - Apr 16

On April 3, a group of journalists gathered to discuss the changing relationship between political actors and journalists in a changing technological landscape at an event entitled “The Role of Media in the U.S. Political System.” The event was sponsored by the HLS American Constitution Society, and featured CNN’s John King, Melinda Henneberger, political reporter for the Washington Post, and Peter Hamby, national political reporter for CNN.

Tribe to receive honorary degree from Columbia

HLS News - Apr 16

Professor Laurence Tribe ‘66, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor, will be recognized by Columbia University with an honorary Doctor of Letters at the school’s commencement exercises on May 22, 2013.

Harvard Law faculty and alumni among 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America

HLS News - Apr 11

Several members of the Harvard Law School faculty and over a dozen alumni were named to The National Law Journal’s list of 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America.

Gertner, Kaufman appointed to Advisory panel on Mass. federal court nominations

HLS News - Apr 9

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has announced the appointment of an Advisory Committee on Massachusetts judicial nominations to solicit, interview, and comment on applications for federal District Court vacancies in Springfield and Boston. The Committee is comprised of distinguished members of the Massachusetts legal community, including Harvard Law School Professor Andrew Kaufman, and will be chaired by former District Court Judge Nancy Gertner, who is now a Professor of Practice at HLS.

The Harvard Immigration Project: Fighting for the rights of immigrant detainees

HLS News - Apr 9

Following its second victory, the Harvard Immigration Project’s (HIP) Bond Hearing Project continues its new campaign to provide free legal representation to detained immigrants seeking release from immigration custody.

From 2013 World Winter Games to Global Development Summit, Alford plays major role in Special Olympics International

HLS News - Apr 8

As an enthusiastic supporter of the Special Olympics who has worked for more than two decades with Special Olympics International, Harvard Law School Professor William P. Alford welcomed the opportunity to help bring about the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games, held in PyeongChang, Korea earlier this year. “One of the major messages of the Special Olympics is that having a disability need not be seen as being as limiting or disqualifying as some people might assume,” says Alford, director of ...

Souter, O’Connor join Civics Education conversation (video)

HLS News - Apr 5

It’s a common refrain that immigrants taking the U.S. citizenship test know more about the workings of the federal government than the average holder of a U.S. birth certificate. A group of experts dedicated to grappling with the themes outlined in the Constitution gathered Monday at Harvard Law School (HLS) to explore that disturbing trend and the importance of civics.

PIFS symposium gathers senior executives, government officials

HLS News - Apr 5

Harvard Law School's Program on International Financial Systems (PIFS) hosted its eleventh annual Symposium on Building the Financial System of the Twenty-first Century: An Agenda for Europe and the United States on March 21-23 at the SwissRe Centre for Global Dialogue in Rüschlikon Switzerland. Co-hosted by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), the event gathered over a hundred senior executives and government officials from the financial industry, policymaking arenas, law, and academia.

HLS establishes new Veterans Legal Clinic

HLS News - Apr 1

The Board of Veterans’ Appeals denies a soldier’s claim for disability benefits for an injury to his lower extremities. But the decision is handed down while the soldier is serving in Afghanistan, and he doesn’t realize he has the right to appeal until after he returns from his deployment—after the appeal deadline has passed.  For students in Harvard Law School’s new Veterans Legal Clinic, the chance to argue that the appeal deadline should have been tolled and the case allowed to proceed on the ...

HLS’s Child Advocacy Program transcends disciplinary boundaries

HLS News - Apr 1

When Elizabeth Bartholet ‘65 and Jessica Budnitz ‘01founded the Child Advocacy Program at Harvard Law School over eight years ago, they intended the program to serve as a model for other law schools. They intended the program to educate law students about the importance of working across traditional disciplinary lines. But they did not expect their ideas to transcend those boundaries by inspiring action within another discipline, namely journalism.

Cohen files amicus brief in gene patent case before the Supreme Court

HLS News - Mar 28

Harvard Law School Professor I. Glenn Cohen ’03 and Gideon A. Schor ’89 recently filed an amicus brief on behalf of Dr. Eric S. Lander in a pending Supreme Court case that will address whether human genes are patentable.  

Human Rights panel discusses cost of Iraq invasion, 10 years after (video)

HLS News - Mar 28

On March 26, representatives of a number of human rights organizations gathered at Harvard Law School to reflect on the lasting impact of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and to discuss their efforts to hold the U.S. government accountable for problems there during the occupation and ongoing to this day.

Harvard Law School and the road to marriage equality

HLS News - Mar 27

A roundup of some of the Harvard Law School faculty and alumni who have played or are now playing central roles in the gay marriage cases before the Court.

Backlash from Roe v. Wade continues to shape public discourse, says Klarman

HLS News - Mar 25

Forty years after the Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in Roe v. Wade , the backlash it generated continues to shape the public discourse, says Harvard Law School Professor Michael Klarman, an expert on constitutional law and constitutional history.

Clinic and Human Rights Watch: Obama should urge Jordan to stop sending asylum seekers back to Syria

HLS News - Mar 25

While Jordan has accommodated more than 350,000 refugees since the start of the Syrian conflict in March 2011, it is routinely and unlawfully rejecting Palestinian refugees, single men, and undocumented people seeking asylum at its border with Syria, according to Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic and Human Rights Watch.

How same-sex marriage came to be

HLS News - Mar 22

Next week, the Supreme Court will hear a pair of cases involving same-sex marriage. Harvard Law School Professor Michael Klarman has written a legal history of gay marriage, “From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash and the Struggle for Same Sex Marriage.” In the March-April 2013 issue of Harvard Magazine, Klarman published an article on “How Same-Sex Marriage Came to Be.” His scholarship was also profiled in the Fall 2012 issue of the Harvard Law Bulletin in an article titled “The Courts ...

Library exhibit: HLS and the road to marriage equality

HLS News - Mar 22

The Caspersen Room in the Harvard Law School Library is currently displaying an exhibit documenting the involvement of Harvard Law School students, faculty and alumni in the long road to marriage equality. The exhibit includes a 1983 paper by Evan Wolfson ’83, “Samesex Marriage and Morality: The Human Rights Vision of the Constitution,” along with briefs and other exhibits from HLS Professors Elizabeth Bartholet ‘65, Lawrence Lessig, Frank Michelman ‘60, William Rubenstein ‘86, Carol Steiker ...

At HLS award ceremony, Babbitt challenges ‘haphazard infrastructure decisions’ (video)

HLS News - Mar 19

On March 14, the Harvard Law School Environmental Law Society presented its annual Horizon award to Bruce Babbitt ’65, who previously served as secretary of the interior and governor of Arizona.The award is a means of recognizing great people who have accomplished great things in the field of environment and natural resources law, and to provide a forum in which to discuss those achievements. 

Haben Girma ’13 named a White House Champion of Change (video)

HLS News - Mar 19

Harvard Law School student Haben Girma ’13 was recently named a White House Champion of Change for her advocacy on behalf of deafblind individuals and her efforts in promoting educational excellence for African Americans.

P/Review of Health Law at Petrie-Flom Center (video)

HLS News - Mar 18

The past year was a historic one for health law, with the Supreme Court issuing the final word on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act alongside a host of other critical developments. In February, the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, in partnership with the New England Journal of Medicine, held its first annual Health Law Year in P/Review event.

For clinical students interested in food law and policy, a cornucopia of opportunities

HLS News - Mar 15

With national attention focused on the obesity epidemic and the diabetes crisis—along with rapidly growing concerns about social justice and environmental problems related to the current food-production system—there may be no hotter topic in law schools right now than food law and policy. The wildly popular new Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, the first law school clinic of its kind in the world, is right at the center, with students working on a wide range of projects to make healthy ...

Harvard Law students featured in Business Insider

HLS News - Mar 15

Twenty-one students from Harvard Law School were profiled in the March 4 edition of Business Insider in an article that celebrates the extraordinary range of experiences and contributions of Harvard Law School students.

Food for thought: Panel discusses how labeling products could be improved (video)

HLS News - Mar 13

On March 8-9, the Harvard Food Law Society hosted “Forum on Food Labeling: Putting the Label on the Table,” a conference that brought together a host of authorities on food law and policy to explore the legal and policy aspects of food labeling and its effects on consumer knowledge, choice, and behavior. 

Food for thought: Panel discusses how labeling products could be improved (video)

HLS News - Mar 13

On March 8-9, the Harvard Food Law Society hosted “Forum on Food Labeling: Putting the Label on the Table,” a conference that brought together a host of authorities on food law and policy to explore the legal and policy aspects of food labeling and its effects on consumer knowledge, choice, and behavior. 

Women’s Law Association conference focused on increasing women’s political participation (video)

HLS News - Mar 11

During the 2012 election cycle, a record number of women won seats in Congress. Still, women make up just 19 percent of Congress and hold only five governorships. In an effort to build momentum following the 2012 races, the Women’s Law Association hosted its annual conference on February 8, entitled “19%: When Will Women Have the Floor?”

Feldman examines corruption and political legitimacy in China

HLS News - Mar 10

At a Feb. 6 talk sponsored by the Harvard Law and International Development Society, Noah Feldman, Bemis Professor of International Law, focused on corruption in China and how it is likely to play out in the country’s political development.

Feldman examines corruption and political legitimacy in China

HLS News - Mar 10

At a Feb. 6 talk sponsored by the Harvard Law and International Development Society, Noah Feldman, Bemis Professor of International Law, focused on corruption in China and how it is likely to play out in the country’s political development.

Cohen promoted to professor of law at Harvard

HLS News - Mar 8

Following a vote of the Harvard Law School faculty, I. Glenn Cohen , a leading expert on the intersection of health care, bioethics and the law, will be promoted from assistant professor to tenured professor of law, effective July 1. Cohen has served as an assistant professor since 2008, and as co-director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics since 2009.

Stein receives Viscardi Award for work on disability rights

HLS News - Mar 6

Harvard Law School Visiting Professor Michael Ashley Stein ’88 was awarded the 2013 Viscardi Award, which honors people living with disabilities for their work and influence in the global disability community.

Bernard and Sherley Koteen: Benefactors of HLS Office of Public Interest Advising

HLS News - Mar 5

Bernard Koteen '40, a telecommunications expert who endowed Harvard Law School’s Office of Public Interest Advising, died Feb. 22 in Washington D.C., suffering a fatal heart attack just three days after the death of his wife of 70 years, Sherley Koteen.

Cultural exchange: Graduate Program hosts annual international party

HLS News - Mar 5

At the annual international party hosted by the Harvard Law School LL.M class of 2013,  students, faculty, staff and family members filled the Harkness Commons in the Caspersen Student Center for a chance to immerse themselves in the cultures of their graduate student classmates, who hail from more than 70 countries. 

Legal Hackathon

HLS News - Mar 4

During the weekend of Feb. 22, at the first-ever Legal Hackathon, a group of 25 Harvard Law School students worked around the clock to confront the question of content-use policies for HarvardX, and what they may mean for Harvard University and the future of education.

Tan nominated to Massachusetts Juvenile Court

HLS News - Mar 4

Gov. Deval Patrick ’82 has nominated Gloria Tan, a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School’s Criminal Justice Institute, to a seat on the Massachusetts Juvenile Court. Tan is a leading national authority in the field of juvenile justice.

A conference on the dimensions of property law

HLS News - Mar 1

More than 100 legal scholars gathered in Geneva, Switzerland for the Geneva-Harvard-Renmin-Sydney Law Faculty Conference, a three-day event that brought together faculty from Harvard Law School, the University of Geneva, Renmin Law School (China), and Sydney Law School (Australia) to explore property law in its many dimensions.

Harvard experts examine Gun violence and policy, post Newtown (video)

HLS News - Feb 27

On Feb. 15, a panel of legal and public-health scholars, moderated by Dean Martha Minow and including Clinical Professor Ron Sullivan and Alan A. Stone, professor of Law and Psychiatry, gathered at Harvard Law School for a public forum on gun violence, gun policy and the prospects for meaningful reform in a post-Newtown landscape.

Harvard experts examine Gun violence and policy, post Newtown (video)

HLS News - Feb 27

On Feb. 15, a panel of legal and public-health scholars, moderated by Dean Martha Minow and including Clinical Professor Ron Sullivan and Alan A. Stone, professor of Law and Psychiatry, gathered at Harvard Law School for a public forum on gun violence, gun policy and the prospects for meaningful reform in a post-Newtown landscape.

President Of Kosovo Constitutional Court speaks at HLS

HLS News - Feb 27

On Feb. 4, more than 70 Harvard Law School students, faculty, and other members of the Harvard community gathered in Wasserstein Hall to hear Dr. Enver Hasani, president of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, speak on “European Self-Determination and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo.”

Guinier and Ogletree honored by the Maynard Institute

HLS News - Feb 21

In commemoration of Black History Month, Harvard Law School Professors Lani Guinier and Charles Ogletree ’78 were recognized by the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education as two of 28 noteworthy African-Americans who have contributed to the “world of words.”

Remembering Ronald Dworkin LL.B. '57

HLS News - Feb 20

Ronald M. Dworkin LL.B. ’57, renowned legal scholar and philosopher, died on Feb. 13, 2013. In the days since, a number of Harvard Law School professors have written pieces about Dworkin, who was a towering figure in the legal world.

Sunstein appointed as Harvard University Professor

HLS News - Feb 19

Cass Sunstein ’78, Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law and director of HLS’s new Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy, has been named a University Professor, Harvard University President Drew Faust announced today. Harvard’s highest honor for a faculty member, University Professorships were established in 1935 to recognize individuals whose work on the frontiers of knowledge crosses the traditional boundaries of academic disciplines.

Experts explore how social networks can influence behavior and decision-making

HLS News - Feb 15

Scholars and social media experts convened at Harvard Law School Feb. 6 to examine the ways in which electronic interactive media can sway human decision-making and behavior. The conference, “Social Media and Behavioral Economics,” was sponsored by Harvard Law School's new Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy and created by the program’s director, Cass Sunstein ’78.

Lessig on 'Aaron's Laws - Law and Justice in a Digital Age' (video)

HLS News - Feb 15

On Tuesday, Feb. 19, Lawrence Lessig marked his appointment as Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School with a lecture titled "Aaron's Laws: Law and Justice in a Digital Age." The lecture honored the memory and work of Aaron Swartz, the programmer and activist who took his own life on Jan. 11, 2013 at the age of 26. Swartz spent the last two years fighting federal charges that he violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.

Panel discussion on "Gun violence after the Newtown tragedy"

HLS News - Feb 14

On Friday Feb. 15, Harvard Law School hosted "Gun violence after the Newtown tragedy: What can legal, public health and other efforts do?" The panel discussion, moderated by HLS Dean Martha Minow, featured David Hemenway, professor of health policy and management and director of the Harvard Injury Control Research Center; Clinical Professor Ron Sullivan, director of the Harvard Criminal Justice Institute; and Alan A. Stone, Touroff-Glueck Professor of Law and Psychiatry.

Grossman elected 127th president of the Harvard Law Review

HLS News - Feb 13

The Harvard Law Review has elected Gillian Grossman ’14 as its 127th president. Grossman succeeds Conor Tochilin ’13.

Peter Barton Hutt: Celebrating 20 years at Harvard Law (video)

HLS News - Feb 13

A group of scholars gathered on Jan. 17 at Harvard Law School with Peter Barton Hutt ’59 to discuss and celebrate his career, including “20 years (thus far)” teaching an influential course at Harvard Law on food and drug law. Hutt, who has worked at the Washington, D.C. law firm Covington & Burling for more than five decades, has taught the course at HLS since 1993.

Justice Thomas speaks at Harvard Law (video)

HLS News - Feb 11

Justice Clarence Thomas has become known as a quiet presence on the Supreme Court. But on Jan. 29, members of the Harvard Law School community got to hear him speak—and he did so with great humor and warmth. As part of the Herbert W. Vaughan Lecture Series, Thomas participated in a conversation with HLS Dean Martha Minow, after a day in which he met with faculty and students.

Tribe testifies in Second Amendment Hearing (video)

HLS News - Feb 11

On Feb. 12, Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe ’66, a constitutional law scholar, participated in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Proposals to Reduce Gun Violence: Protecting Our Communities While Respecting the Second Amendment.”

Ginsburg holds court at HLS (video)

HLS News - Feb 7

Legal scholar and tireless defender of equal rights Ruth Bader Ginsburg reflected on her career during a discussion with Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow on Monday Feb. 4 before a packed room in Wasserstein Hall.

SEVERE WEATHER ADVISORY

HLS News - Feb 7

Current weather forecasts predict substantial snowfall and severe weather conditions in the Boston/Cambridge area beginning Friday afternoon and continuing through Saturday. The storm is expected to be particularly forceful during Friday's evening commute. In light of this, the Law School will close at noon on Friday, Feb. 8.

Justice Thomas speaks at Harvard Law

HLS News - Feb 5

`As part of the Herbert W. Vaughan Lecture series at Harvard Law School, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas participated in a conversation with HLS Dean Martha Minow during a visit to the law school on Jan. 29.

HLS debuts first online course

HLS News - Jan 31

Harvard Law School’s first ever online course launched Monday, opening up “Copyright,” a class taught by Law School professor William W. Fisher, III, to hundreds of people worldwide. HLS1x: “Copyright,” which is offered through the Harvard branch of the online learning platform edX, is closely modeled after the Law School course taught by Fisher since 1994.

Lawyers as Advisers: Joint degree program seminar bridges law and public policy

HLS News - Jan 30

Since the first meeting of the seminar taught by David Barron ’94 of Harvard Law School and Archon Fung of Harvard Kennedy School, students had been using case studies co-authored by the two professors that put them in the situation room with advisers on real-world problems at the intersection of law and policy. But during a session of Public Problems Advice, Strategy and Analysis in November a player in the case they were discussing sat at the table with them: Josh Stein. J.D. /M.P.P. ’95, North ...

NFL Players Association partners with HMS; Petrie-Flom Center will be involved

HLS News - Jan 29

The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) has granted Harvard Medical School a $100 million grant to create a transformative 10-year initiative⎯the Harvard Integrated Program to Protect and Improve the Health of NFLPA Members. The program will marshal the intellectual, scientific, and medical expertise throughout Harvard University to discover new approaches to diagnosing, treating, and preventing injuries and illnesses in both active and retired players. Members of the Petrie-Flom Center ...

The Long View: Looking Back to Move Forward

HLS News - Jan 29

A distinguished historian at Yale—whose father had been an equally distinguished law professor at Harvard—once remarked that before the American Revolution, the leading public figures in America were ministers who thought about theology, while after the Revolution, they were statesmen who thought about politics. Most of them were lawyers.

The Long View: Leading by Design

HLS News - Jan 25

History is bursting with examples of design leadership—from 12th-century treatise writers to the framers of the Constitution. Institutional design, legal architecture, the procedures and processes of social justice—all are structures that matter enormously.

HLS students help student startups, at Harvard and MIT

HLS News - Jan 23

The Harvard Law Entrepreneurship Project is the newest of 11 Student Practice Organizations at Harvard Law School and is providing free legal research and analysis for student-founded startups at Harvard and MIT.

HLS Library tells 'A Tale of True Crime'

HLS News - Jan 23

On Jan. 11, the Harvard Law School Library announced the opening of a new exhibit titled “Extra! Extra! Read All About It: A Tale of True Crime.” Featuring materials from the library’s Historical & Special Collections, the exhibit examines a short chapter in the United States’ history of true crime narratives, covering topics such as serialized true crime literature, crime photography in newspapers, and new angles on the media coverage of the Sacco and Vanzetti case.

The Long View: Law School and the Chief Executive

HLS News - Jan 22

Does legal training prepare one for the presidency? The question is quite difficult to answer, given the very different training most lawyers received in the 19th century. The vast majority of 19th-century lawyers studied for admission to the bar on their own, or under the guidance of a mentor, or as an apprentice to a practicing lawyer. 

Meltzer appointed next director of the American Law Institute

HLS News - Jan 18

Daniel J. Meltzer ’75, the Story professor of law at Harvard Law School, has been appointed as the next Director of the American Law Institute (ALI). The ALI announced the appointment on January 18, 2013.

50 Years Ago at the HLS Forum, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

HLS News - Jan 17

In October 1962, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at Harvard Law School on “The Future of Integration.” It was six months before he would be imprisoned in a Birmingham jail, 10 months before the March on Washington, almost two years before the signing of the Civil Rights Act and almost six years before his assassination.

‘Courage to Dissent’ wins numerous awards

HLS News - Jan 17

“Courage to Dissent: Atlanta and the Long History of the Civil Rights Movement” (Oxford University Press, 2011) by Harvard Law Professor Tomiko Brown-Nagin has received numerous awards and has been cited for offering an important new perspective on the civil rights movement. The book was released in paperback this past September by Oxford.

SEC proposes corporate political spending rules urged by Bebchuk, committee

HLS News - Jan 15

The Securities and Exchange Commission recently indicated in an entry in the Office of Management and Budget’s Unified Agenda that it plans to issue by April 2013 a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on requiring public companies to disclose their spending on politics. The adoption of such a rule was urged in a rulemaking petition submitted by a committee of ten law professors co-chaired by Harvard Law School Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M. ’80 S.J.D. ’84 and by a record number of supporting comments ...

Symposium at HLS marks launch of global network of interdisciplinary centers focused on the Internet and society

HLS News - Jan 14

On Dec. 6-8, 2012, the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, together with seven international co-organizers, hosted a symposium  at Harvard Law School titled Internet-Driven Developments: Structural Changes and Tipping Points, convening representatives from Internet and society research centers spanning 5 continents and 22 countries.

Tribe, panel urge culture change to target gun violence (video)

HLS News - Jan 10

At a Jan. 8 event, Harvard Law School Professor Laurence Tribe participated in a panel discussion titled “Gun Violence: A Public Health Crisis.” The event, which was co-sponsored by the Reuters news agency and the Harvard School of Public Health, was part of The Forum at HSPH, a discussion series that aims to provide decision-makers with a global platform to address policy choices and scientific controversies.

Six from Harvard Law School awarded Skadden Fellowships

HLS News - Jan 9

Six from Harvard Law School recently were chosen by the Skadden Foundation to receive two-year fellowships to support their work in public service. This year’s recipients include current students Haben Girma ’13, Hunter Landerholm ’13, Adam Meyers ’13 and Mara Sacks ’13, and recent graduates Robert Hodgson ’12 and Daniel Saver ’12.

HLS program gathers leaders in Rio de Janeiro to explore financial issues affecting Brazil and the U.S.

HLS News - Jan 8

Professor Hal Scott, director of the Harvard Law School Program on International Financial Systems, recently gathered public and private sector financial leaders from Brazil and the U.S. to examine issues affecting the financial relationship between the two countries.

In the news: HLS faculty weigh in on the ‘fiscal cliff’ negotiations

HLS News - Jan 7

In recent weeks, a number of HLS faculty have weighed in on issues surrounding the fiscal cliff negotiations.

Petrie-Flom Center will participate with HMS and University partners in 10-year project with NFL Players Association

HLS News - Jan 1

Members of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School will be key co-investigators with colleagues at Harvard Medical School and other parts of the University to help usher the National Football League (NFL) into a safer and more responsible future, said HLS Assistant Professor of Law I. Glenn Cohen, faculty co-director of the Center.

Social Media and Behavioral Economics Conference

HLS News - Jan 1

On Wednesday, Feb. 6, scholars from across Harvard University joined social media experts from Facebook, Twitter, Socialflow and Microsoft Research for a conference on social media, theory and practice, and their potential effects on voting behavior, electricity consumption, pro-social behavior and privacy. The event, “Social Media and Behavioral Economics Conference,” sponsored by Harvard Law School’s new Program on Behavioral Economics and Public Policy, was held at Harvard Law School.

Fried and HLS alumni win legal writing award

HLS News - Dec 20

An article written by Harvard Law School Professor Charles Fried was named an exemplar of good legal writing by The Green Bag, a quarterly journal devoted to readable, concise, and entertaining legal scholarship. A number of Harvard Law School alumni were also included on Green Bag’s 2012 list of “Exemplary Legal Writing.” Their work will appear in the “2013 Almanac & Reader.”

Three from HLS on Forbes '30 Under 30' list

HLS News - Dec 19

Harvard Law School's Joel Alicea ’13, Jake Levine '13, and J.B. Tarter ’09 were recently named to Forbes 2012 “30 Under 30” list. The list acknowledges the high achievement of 30 individuals under age 30 in 15 categories. Both Alicea and Tarter, along with Dan Shoag, assistant professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, were featured in the Law and Policy category; Levine was featured in the Media category.

Two from HLS on Forbes '30 Under 30' list

HLS News - Dec 19

Harvard Law School's Joel Alicea ’13 and J.B. Tarter ’09 were recently named to Forbes 2012 “30 Under 30” list. The list acknowledges the high achievement of 30 individuals under age 30 in 15 categories. Both Alicea and Tarter, along with Dan Shoag, assistant professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, were featured in the Law and Policy category.

Two from HLS on Forbes '30 Under 30' list

HLS News - Dec 19

Harvard Law School's Joel Alicea ’13 and J.B. Tarter ’09 were recently named to Forbes 2012 “30 Under 30” list. The list acknowledges the high achievement of 30 individuals under age 30 in 15 categories. Both Alicea and Tarter, along with Dan Shoag, assistant professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, were featured in the Law and Policy category.

Conference explores the future of corporate business in India

HLS News - Dec 18

On Dec. 11, Harvard Law School’s Program on the Legal Profession (PLP) and the Indian School of Business (ISB) co-hosted a major international conference on the future of corporate business in India and the role of the legal profession. The event was held at the ISB campus in Hyderabad, India.

Exit Interview with Barney Frank

HLS News - Dec 17

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank ’77 (D-Mass.) will retire from the U.S. Congress in December after 32 years in Washington, where he earned a reputation as one of Congress’s most progressive members on civil rights, military spending and financial regulation. The Harvard Law Bulletin caught up with Frank in mid-July—not long after his marriage to Jim Ready—as he fought to cut military spending by $1.1 billion in a budget amendment he’d co-sponsored.

Holmes’ suite home: Law library launches massive database on famed American jurist

HLS News - Dec 14

In a first for the Harvard Law School Library, the Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Digital Suite, which went live on the web Dec. 11, aggregates multiple archival holdings into a single, hyperaccessible digital suite that anyone with a computer can search, browse, and tag.

Alford on Legal Reform and the Future of China (video)

HLS News - Dec 13

Harvard Law School Professor William Alford ’77 was a participant and panelist at major events on the political and legal future of China, held recently at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Fairbank Center at Harvard.

Study shows some improvement in U.S. capital market competitiveness

HLS News - Dec 13

The Committee on Capital Markets Regulation (CCMR), an independent and nonpartisan research organization directed by Harvard Law School Professor Hal S. Scott, released data indicating that U.S. capital markets showed slightly improved competitiveness this past quarter, though most measures of competitiveness still fall short of historical averages.

Daniel Shapiro: Negotiating the Fiscal Crisis

HLS News - Dec 12

Daniel Shapiro, an affiliated faculty member with the Harvard Law School Program on Negotiation, recently wrote an opinion piece on "Negotiating the Fiscal Crisis." Shapiro is an assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital, founder and director of the Harvard International Negotiation Program, and co-author of "Beyond Reason: Using Emotions as You Negotiate."

A Theory of Connectivity: Gasser and Palfrey on the opportunities and pitfalls of our increasingly interconnected world

HLS News - Dec 11

The highly connected nature of today’s world has all sorts of benefits—but all sorts of potential costs as well, from loss of control of private data to a world financial system so intertwined that when one part of it falls, it’s hard to keep other parts from toppling along with it. In “Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems,” John Palfrey ’01 and Urs Gasser LL.M. ’03 draw on their work at the HLS Berkman Center for Internet & Society to start developing a ...

NAPABA names Suk among 'Best Lawyers Under 40'

HLS News - Dec 11

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) has named Professor Jeannie Suk ’02 among the 2012 recipients of the association’s “Best Lawyers Under 40” awards.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate joins IGLP Honorary Council at HLS

HLS News - Dec 6

The Institute for Global Law and Policy (IGLP) at Harvard Law School recently welcomed Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste José Manuel Ramos-Horta to the IGLP Honorary Council.

Vermeule in Jotwell: Bureaucratic Nirvana

HLS News - Dec 6

In a recent review essay for the online journal Jotwell, Harvard Law School Professor Adrian Vermeule ’93 takes a look at Norton E. Long’s article “Bureaucracy and Constitutionalism,” published in 1952 in the American Political Science Review.

Zittrain named one of Foreign Policy's Top 100 Global Thinkers

HLS News - Dec 6

Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain has been named among the 100 Foreign Policy Global Thinkers for 2012.

In a hands-on workshop, students use case studies to explore information law and policy

HLS News - Dec 5

Based on a workshop taught at Harvard Law School for the first time last spring by Professor Jonathan Zittrain ’95 and John Palfrey ’01, Information Law and Policy: Advanced Problem Solving Workshop (taught this fall by Visiting Professor Susan Crawford) presents students with several case studies and asks them to complete team exercises, which include conducting negotiations, writing legal briefs, and drafting policies and legislation.

At Harvard Law, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels promotes a model for secondary education reform (video)

HLS News - Dec 4

At a Nov. 29 talk co-sponsored by the Harvard Federalist Society, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels shared his experience in leading the charge for a new law that enacted a series of secondary education reforms in Indiana last year—reforms which many observers have called the most far-reaching changes yet adopted by any state.

In Sandy’s aftermath, Barron urges urban planning at a national level

HLS News - Dec 4

At a Dec. 3 talk sponsored by the HLS Environmental Law Society, Harvard Law School’s David Barron ’94, the Honorable S. William Green Professor of Public Law, addressed questions raised in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Mnookin honored by International Academy of Mediators with Lifetime Achievement Award

HLS News - Dec 4

Professor Robert Mnookin ’68, chairman of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, was honored by the International Academy of Mediators with a lifetime achievement award. The IAM Award is presented to a person who has made exceptional contributions throughout his or her career by personally advancing alternative dispute resolution and inspiring others to do so.

Berkman Center releases report on teens, parents and online privacy

HLS News - Nov 30

A new report produced by Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society and its Youth and Media Project in conjunction with Pew Research Center’s Internet and America Life Project explores issues surrounding parents, teens, and online privacy in an increasingly digital world.

Conference spotlights challenges at intersection of federal and tribal systems

HLS News - Nov 30

“Tribal Courts and the Federal System,” a two-day conference held Nov. 8 at Harvard Law School, was the first of its kind, bringing together tribal judges and attorneys, tribal, state, and federal government policymakers, and scholars to explore issues Indian tribal courts currently face in criminal and civil enforcement, jurisdiction, and lawmaking. The conference was sponsored by the HLS Native American Law Students Association.

Student conference focuses on strategies for tackling corruption

HLS News - Nov 30

On Nov. 9 the Harvard Law & International Development Society, an HLS student group, held its annual symposium, this year highlighting the increasingly global nature of anti-corruption efforts. The day-long event, “Development amidst Corruption | Developments against Corruption,” began with vivid personal narratives from the trenches: speakers included undercover agent Robert Mazur, Ombudsman of the Philippines Conchita Carpio-Morales, and El Cid Butyayan, senior litigator for the World Bank.

A Question of Accountability

HLS News - Nov 29

On the morning of Feb. 28, 2012, a team from Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic took their seats in the U.S. Supreme Court. Clinical Professor Tyler Giannini and Assistant Clinical Professor Susan Farbstein ’04, co-directors of the clinic and nationally recognized leaders in Alien Tort Statute litigation, had waited months to hear oral arguments in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co ., a case that would test the limits of the centuries-old ATS. It was the highest-profile human ...

HLS co-hosts conference on the Arab uprising

HLS News - Nov 28

Over the course of four days between Nov. 8 and 11, at the sixth annual Harvard Arab Weekend, Arab leaders from government, business, academia, and the professions gathered at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School to assess the impact of these changes and what may lay ahead. The event, “The Arab Up-rising: Sustaining the Spring—Avoiding the Fall,” was sponsored by the Harvard Arab Alumni Association and various Arab student organizations on campus.

A conversation on the legal legacy of Judge Henry Friendly (video)

HLS News - Nov 26

On Wednesday, Nov. 14, a panel of distinguished judges and professors gathered with author David Dorsen '59 to discuss and celebrate his recent biography, entitled “Henry Friendly: Greatest Judge of His Era.”

Minow recognized for outstanding contribution to public discourse

HLS News - Nov 26

HLS Dean Martha Minow received the Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse from the College Historical Society of Trinity College, Dublin at a ceremony on Nov. 13, 2012. The College Historical Society, popularly referred to as “The Hist,” is one of the world’s oldest undergraduate debating societies, established in 1770.

IHRC report outlines concerns about ‘killer robots’

HLS News - Nov 21

Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic and the independent human rights organization Human Rights Watch have authored a report titled “Losing Humanity: The Case Against Killer Robots.” The report, released Nov. 19, argues that governments should pre-emptively ban fully autonomous weapons because of the danger they pose to civilians in armed conflict. 

Ames Moot Court Competition 1959: Remembering a signature accomplishment

HLS News - Nov 19

On a sunny day in June, seven members of the Sacks club, the team that won the Ames moot court competition in 1959, met on the steps of Langdell library to reminisce over what they called their “unlikely” victory, and to talk about where their lives had taken them in the fifty years since.

Evidence of Greatness: HLS showcases life and work of Joseph Story

HLS News - Nov 19

This fall, visitors to Langdell Hall have an opportunity to take a deeper look at the professor who saved a School. “A Storied Legacy: Correspondence and Early Writings of Joseph Story” is an exhibit of letters and manuscripts on display through Dec. 7 in the Harvard Law School Library’s Caspersen Room.

Souter, back on the bench: Retired justice presides over Ames competition at HLS (video)

HLS News - Nov 19

David Souter hung up his judge’s robes more than three years ago, after nearly two decades on the nation’s highest court. But on Thursday night, the retired Supreme Court justice seemed as sharp as ever as he directed his easygoing, often droll, always astute wit at the Harvard Law School students arguing before his bench during the final round of the 102nd Ames Moot Court Competition.

The Chayes International Public Service Fellowship: snapshots from this summer

HLS News - Nov 19

During the summer of 2012, hundreds of Harvard Law School J.D. and graduate students benefitted from the largest pool of guaranteed funding offered by a law school for the broadest range of public interest summer work. A select group of 26 students worked in 19 countries under the aegis of the Chayes International Public Service Fellowships, dedicated to the memory of Professor Abram Chayes, who taught at Harvard Law School for more than 40 years.

Building the financial system of the 21st Century: A Q&A with Professor Hal Scott

HLS News - Nov 15

The Harvard Law School Program on International Financial Systems fosters the exchange of ideas on capital markets, financial regulation, and international financial systems through its portfolio of Symposia on Building the Financial System of the 21st Century. The symposia, started in 1998, bring together senior financial leaders, high-ranking government officials, and distinguished academics from the U.S. and their counterparts from China, Europe, Japan, and Brazil each year for intensive dialogue on ...

Disability rights victories in European Court of Human Rights won by HLS advocate

HLS News - Nov 15

In October, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg issued two rulings bolstering the rights of persons with psycho-social disabilities. Both cases were brought by Hungarian-Slovakian disability rights activist János Fiala-Butora LL.M. ’10, an S.J.D. candidate at Harvard Law School and an associate of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, known as HPOD.

The courts and public opinion: Klarman examines the legal fight for same-sex marriage

HLS News - Nov 14

Michael Klarman’s scholarship has focused on the effect that court rulings have on social reform movements. He argues that when courts get ahead of public opinion, political backlash often follows. That’s what he found in an earlier book he wrote on race and the U.S. Supreme Court, and it is a phenomenon he has also observed in cases involving the death penalty and abortion. In his new book, “From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage,” the HLS professor ...

At Harvard Law, Rep. John Sarbanes '88 makes the case against big money in politics

HLS News - Nov 13

At a Nov. 8 talk at Harvard Law School, Representative John Sarbanes ’88 (D-MD) advocated for “grassroots democracy” funded by the people rather than by Political Action Committees and other large donors. Sarbanes is a co-sponsor of the Grassroots Democracy Act, intended to empower small donors and to free lawmakers from their dependency on big money. The event was sponsored by the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.

From 'Hurt Locker' to 'Paper Chase': A look at the newest military service members at HLS

HLS News - Nov 8

This year’s 1L class at Harvard Law School incudes 16 military veterans. There are also nine 2Ls, six 3Ls, and three LL.Ms at HLS who either have served or are active members of the U.S. military. Thirteen are attending through the Yellow Ribbon program, through which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs matches what a law school offers to pay for a veteran’s tuition and expenses. HLS is one of very few schools making the maximum commitment—50 percent—which means, with the V.A.’s match, these ...

From 'Hurt Locker' to 'Paper Chase': A look at the newest military service members at HLS

HLS News - Nov 8

This year’s 1L class at Harvard Law School includes 16 military veterans. There are also nine 2Ls, six 3Ls, and three LL.Ms at HLS with records of military service. Thirteen are attending through the Yellow Ribbon program, through which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs matches what a law school offers to pay for a veteran’s tuition and expenses. HLS is one of very few schools making the maximum commitment—50 percent—which means, with the V.A.’s match, these veterans attend for free. Others ...

Alumni fare well in elections

HLS News - Nov 7

Harvard Law School graduates across the country won political victories in the 2012 elections. In addition to a victory by President Barack Obama '91in a close race with Republican candidate Mitt Romney J.D./M.B.A ‘75.  A Harvard Law School Professor and two HLS alumni won seats in the Senate, and 15 alumni are going to the House.

Warrior Scholar Project

HLS News - Nov 7

Jesse Reising ’15 was eager to start his career as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps upon his graduation from Yale—until his dream was derailed when he made a tackle during the 2010 Harvard-Yale football game, resulting in partial paralysis of his right arm. Medically disqualified from the Marines (he’d attended Officer Candidates School during college), Reising decided to serve those who serve in the military. Last summer, at Yale, he and two friends launched Operation Opportunity, with an ...

Massachusetts sends Warren to U.S. Senate

HLS News - Nov 6

Harvard Law School Professor and Democratic nominee Elizabeth Warren—bankruptcy expert, Wall Street reformer and consumer watch dog—has won a hard-fought race for the U.S. Senate against her Republican opponent, incumbent Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown.

At HLS, Solicitor General Verrilli describes 'the greatest legal job one could ever have' (video)

HLS News - Nov 6

According to U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., the defining feature of his job—the most challenging, rewarding aspect—is grappling with what the position of the United States should be on an issue. At a talk on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at Harvard Law School, Verrilli explained that this task is harder than it might seem, involving a balancing of interests and making considered decisions on whether the U.S. should modify a previously held position.

Barack Obama '91 wins second term as President of the United States

HLS News - Nov 6

Barack Obama ’91 has won election to the presidency of the United States for a second term. 

From 'Hurt Locker' to 'Paper Chase': A look at the newest military service members at HLS

HLS News - Nov 6

This year’s 1L class at Harvard Law School includes 16 military veterans. There are also nine 2Ls, six 3Ls, and three LL.Ms at HLS with records of military service. Thirteen are attending through the Yellow Ribbon program, through which the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs matches what a law school offers to pay for a veteran’s tuition and expenses. HLS is one of very few schools making the maximum commitment—50 percent—which means, with the V.A.’s match, these veterans attend for free. Others ...

Looking back at Little Rock: At HLS, Justice Breyer and nine appellate justices revisit Cooper v. Aaron (video)

HLS News - Nov 1

In October, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice sponsored a two-day conference looking back at Cooper v. Aaron and the impact it’s had on law and education over the course of 55 years. The event brought together legal scholars, students, and civil-rights lawyers and featured a moot-court proceeding involving U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and nine appellate judges, to revisit the legal questions raised by Cooper.

Gergen speaks at HLS on the 2012 presidential race (video)

HLS News - Oct 31

Rarely has a presidential race been so hard to call, said David Gergen ’67, during a talk on Oct. 26 at Harvard Law School Fall Reunions. A former adviser to four presidents, a regular contributor to CNN and a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, Gergen put the race between fellow HLS graduates Mitt Romney ’75 and President Barack Obama ’91 in historical perspective, analyzed its development, talked about its import—and made some predictions.

Expert Warns of the Growing Trade in Software Security Exploits

HLS News - Oct 30

The growing trade in exploits of software security has become a “market in digital weapons,” leaving people in the U.S. and abroad vulnerable to cyberattack, said Christopher Soghoian, Principal Technologist and Senior Policy Analyst at the ACLU, in an October 24th talk at Harvard Law School. “The entire industry, while it’s been in existence hasn’t received much sunlight,” said Soghoian, arguing that many regulators and policymakers do not even understand that the market exists. (Soghoian said ...

Guinier and Brown-Nagin in the Harvard Gazette: An issue that’s bigger in Texas

HLS News - Oct 30

The controversial question of what role race should play in college admissions, if any, stands again before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. Lani Guinier, the Bennett Boskey Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, teamed up with Tomiko Brown-Nagin, a professor of law at HLS and a professor of history at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), to explore the legal background and possible outcomes of the Fisher case, which was argued recently.

At Harvard Law School, UN investigator announces probe of drone attacks by U.S. (video)

HLS News - Oct 26

At a packed Harvard Law School event co-sponsored by the Human Rights Program and the Harvard National Security and Law Association, Ben Emmerson, United Nations Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, announced plans to launch an investigation into the use of drone attacks which have caused civilian deaths—including those carried out by the U.S.

Pro Bono Task Force report: ‘If we don’t do it, who will?’

HLS News - Oct 26

Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow and John Levi ’72, LL.M. ‘73, the chairman of the Legal Services Corporation, presented the report of the Corporation’s Pro Bono Task Force in in HLS’s Wasserstein Hall on Oct. 3, at an event hosted by HLS Professor David Wilkins ‘80, director of the Law School’s Program on Legal Education. Established in 1974 by President Nixon, the LSC, a private, nonprofit corporation, is the nation’s largest funder of legal aid providers for low-income Americans.

HLS Symposium Celebrates the Writing and Teaching of Sally Falk Moore (video)

HLS News - Oct 25

Sally Falk Moore, the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Anthropology, Emerita, has had a distinguished and multi-faceted career: as a staff attorney at the Nuremberg Trials; as the author of important studies of property and power among the Incas, and of land law and economic and political change in Tanzania; as a professor of anthropology at UCLA and Harvard; and as Dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. On September 21, more than 80 lawyers, anthropologists, students and friends gathered ...

Electing to serve - Most likely to succeed?

HLS News - Oct 24

This November, for the first time in the history of U.S. presidential elections, both candidates of the major parties are graduates of Harvard Law School. Despite sharp differences in their politics, President Barack Obama ’91 and his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney J.D./M.B.A. ’75, share the HLS experience, though their times at Harvard were separated by nearly 20 years. Many of the words used by their Harvard classmates to describe Obama and Romney are the same. But in other ways, the two are ...

HLS scholars in the Harvard Gazette: America at a crossroads

HLS News - Oct 24

At stake in the next election is nothing less than a redefinition of America’s priorities, according to Harvard scholars taking part in a panel discussion at Harvard's Barker Center. The panel which explored law, history, and the 2012 election, included moderator Jill Lepore and panelists Alex Keyssar, Elizabeth Hinton, and HLS Professors Annette Gordon-Reed, Kenneth Mack, and Jed Shugerman

Wilkins honored by the University of Stockholm

HLS News - Oct 23

Stockholm University conferred an honorary doctoral degree on Harvard Law School Professor David B. Wilkins ’80 , director of the Program on the Legal Profession and vice dean for global initiatives on the legal profession.

A roundtable at HLS on corporate time horizons

HLS News - Oct 22

A group of senior corporate managers, finance practitioners, and academics from Europe and the U.S. gathered at HLS on Sept. 14-15 for a conference on the role of corporate governance in encouraging long-term value in public corporations.

Greiner: "Is the exit poll intellectually dead?"

HLS News - Oct 19

“Is the exit poll intellectually dead?” That is the question that Professor D. James Greiner of Harvard Law School and Professor Kevin M. Quinn of UC Berkeley School of Law explore in their recently released paper, “Long Live the Exit Poll,” which appears in the Fall 2012 edition of Daedalus, the journal of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.

The Federal Trade Commission: 'Fighting for truth and justice' (video)

HLS News - Oct 19

The Federal Trade Commission is not just an agency, said its Chairman Jon Leibowitz at a talk on Thursday, Oct.11 at Harvard Law School, but it is an agency of superheroes, working to protect American consumers. “Like Superman, we fight for truth and justice and the American way—but of course we don’t wear capes,” Leibowitz said.

Cohen in the Harvard Gazette: The rise of medical tourism (audio)

HLS News - Oct 18

The intersection of medical tourism and ethical and legal questions are at the heart of I. Glenn Cohen's new book, “Patients with Passports: Medical Tourism, Law, and Ethics,” the focus of his year as a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

A No Vote on ID Laws

HLS News - Oct 16

Harvard Law School Professor D. James Greiner is co-author of a recent study on the experience of Boston voters in the election of 2008. As another election approaches, we ask Greiner a few questions about his study and the current efforts to pass tougher voter ID laws.

Brooks, Feldman probe “The Morality of the Free Market” (video)

HLS News - Oct 16

The Morality of the Free Market was the topic of a Sept. 27 address at Harvard Law School by Arthur Brooks, the president of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative research organization in Washington, D.C. The event was sponsored by the Harvard Law Federalist Society.

Former U.S. trade representative shares tools for successful multi-party negotiations

HLS News - Oct 16

On Oct. 3, former United States Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky came to Harvard Law School to share her experiences with students in the Advanced Negotiation Workshop taught by Clinical Professor Robert Bordone ’97 and Lecturer Rory Van Loo ’07.

Whiting offers views on the International Criminal Court’s impact

HLS News - Oct 15

Is the International Criminal Court succeeding? According to Assistant Clinical Professor Alex Whiting, the answer is a tentative yes. Nevertheless, Whiting—who serves as the prosecution coordinator in the Office of the Prosecutor at the ICC—provided a candid portrait of the court’s strengths and weaknesses at a talk on Wednesday, Oct. 10, sponsored by the Harvard Law School Human Rights Program.

ELECTION 2012

HLS News - Oct 12

Harvard Law School graduates across the country won political victories in the 2012 elections. In addition to a victory by President Barack Obama '91 in a close race with Republican candidate Mitt Romney J.D./M.B.A ‘75, a Harvard Law School Professor and two HLS alumni won seats in the Senate, and 15 alumni are going to the House.

Harvard Law School announces expansion of J.D. admissions interview process

HLS News - Oct 10

Harvard Law School announced today that it will move to videoconferencing technology to conduct interviews of candidates for admission to its J.D. program.

A diverged family converges at Harvard Law

HLS News - Oct 10

At a Harvard Law School Graduate Program reception in August, students Erum Khalid Sattar and Rebecca Zaman shook hands and said hello. “If we hadn’t been wearing nametags, what happened next might never have happened,” said Zaman.

Guinier participates in discussion on race and college admissions (video)

HLS News - Oct 10

On Oct. 4, Harvard Law School Professor Lani Guinier participated in a panel discussion on race and college admissions. The discussion, broadcast on C-SPAN, was hosted by The Century Foundation, a nonprofit, non-partisan research foundation that focuses on issues of equity and opportunity in the United States.

Mario Baeza ’74: ‘An American success story’ (video)

HLS News - Oct 10

One of the highlights of the Second Celebration of Latino Alumni, held Sept. 27 to 30 at Harvard Law School, was a gala dinner Saturday night that featured a presentation of the Harvard Law School Medal of Freedom to Joaquin Avila ’73, a nationally recognized expert on Latino voting rights, and a keynote address by Mario L. Baeza ’74.

Voting Rights Activist Joaquin Avila ’73 Receives HLSA Award

HLS News - Oct 10

Joaquin G. Avila ’73 was honored with the Harvard Law School Association (HLSA) Award at a ceremony during the Harvard Law School Celebration of Latino Alumni on Sept. 29. A nationally recognized expert on Latino voting rights, Avila is the distinguished practitioner in residence and director of the National Voting Rights Advocacy Initiative at Seattle University School of Law.

Voting Rights Activist Joaquin Avila ’73 Receives HLSA Award

HLS News - Oct 10

Joaquin G. Avila ’73 was honored with the Harvard Law School Association (HLSA) Award at a ceremony during the Harvard Law School Celebration of Latino Alumni on Sept. 29. A nationally recognized expert on Latino voting rights, Avila is the distinguished practitioner in residence and director of the National Voting Rights Advocacy Initiative at Seattle University School of Law.

Celebration of Latino Alumni Latino leadership: Our time is now (video)

HLS News - Oct 9

The second Celebration of Latino Alumni, held at Harvard Law School from Sept. 27 to 30, drew about 200 alumni and guests to the school to share their experiences and reflect on the path of social change.

Sitkoff appointed to two new ULC committees

HLS News - Oct 4

Robert H. Sitkoff, the John L. Gray Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, has been appointed to two new Uniform Law Commission committees—the study committee on trust protectors, and the drafting committee on Series of Unincorporated Business Entities.

Annual PIFS symposium convenes senior financial and government leaders

HLS News - Oct 4

Harvard Law School's Program on International Financial Systems (PIFS) hosted its 9th annual China-U.S. symposium in Beijing the weekend of Sept. 14-16. Co-organized by PIFS and the China Development Research Foundation (CDRF), this annual gathering convenes senior financial and government leaders from the United States and China to address key issues relating to capital markets, financial regulation and the China-U.S. economic and financial relationship.

‘The Paper Chase’ at 40 (video)

HLS News - Oct 3

Many readers and viewers wonder if John Osborn Jr. had someone special in mind when he created the imperious professor in his 1971 hit novel “The Paper Chase,” based on his Harvard Law School years. With a careful reply, the author told HLS Dean Martha Minow and a crowd gathered at Austin Hall Thursday for a discussion about his book that the character was actually a composite of several people. But, he added, “It wasn’t like it was hard to find role models.”

HLS launches Public Service Venture Fund; grants will be awarded in May ’13

HLS News - Oct 2

Officially launched on Sept. 25, the Harvard Law School Public Service Venture Fund will award $1 million in grants each year to Harvard Law graduates pursuing careers in public service. The Fund supports two kinds of post-graduate fellowships: “seed grants” for startup public interest ventures, and, through “existing organization-based fellowships,” salary support to graduating HLS students to work at nonprofits or government agencies in the U.S. and abroad.

Klarman seeks to debunk myths on the Constitution’s founding (video)

HLS News - Sep 27

At a Sept. 19 event commemorating the signing of the U.S. Constitution, Harvard Law School Professor Michael Klarman, an expert on constitutional law and constitutional history, gave a lecture entitled "Why the Tea Party Has It Wrong: The Story of a Multifaceted Founding."

HLS competing in 2012 election races

HLS News - Sep 27

As two Harvard Law School grads compete for the U.S. presidency, the list of HLS affiliates running in congressional races across the country includes 19 alumni and one HLS faculty member. In the U.S. House of Representatives, nine are incumbents and eight are challengers running for the first time.

Kagan offers a view of a Justice's working life (video)

HLS News - Sep 26

On Sept. 5, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Elena Kagan ’86 joined Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow for a conversation on life as a Supreme Court Justice. The former and current deans spoke before an overflow audience in the Wasserstein Hall, Caspersen Student Center, Clinical Wing building.

Viet Dinh ’93 on government, academia and boutique law practice (video)

HLS News - Sep 26

Viet D. Dinh '93, founding partner of Bancroft and a professor of law at Georgetown University Law Center, spoke at Harvard Law School on Sept. 18 at an event sponsored by Harvard Law School's Program on the Legal Profession. Dinh, who served as U.S. Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy from 2001 to 2003 and played a key role in developing legal policy initiatives to combat terrorism, focused his remarks on “Peripatetic Reflections: Government, Academia and Boutique Law Practice."

Shay testifies on Offshore Profit Shifting and the U.S. Tax Code (video)

HLS News - Sep 19

On Sept. 20, Harvard Law School Professor Stephen Shay testified before the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The topic of the hearing was “Offshore Profit Shifting and the U.S. Tax Code."

Feldman in Bloomberg View: The view from Tunis—fire, tear gas and normalcy

HLS News - Sep 17

"The view from Tunis: Fire, tear gas, and normalcy," a piece by Harvard Law School Professor Noah Feldman, appeared in Bloomberg View on Sept. 14. Feldman, who is the Bemis Professor of International Law at HLS, is a regular contributor to Bloomberg View and the author of many books, including “Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Justices” (Twelve Books 2010), and “The Fall and Rise of the Islamic State” (Princeton University Press, 2008).  

Bryonn Bain ’01 brings his dynamic style to new Harvard class

HLS News - Sep 17

Undergraduates gathered at Farkas Hall last week to audition for a workshop that taps into the power and poetry of language. Harvard’s new dramatic arts offering “Hip Hop and Spoken Word: Theater Performance Laboratory” is being taught by visiting lecturer Bryonn Bain '01, an activist, rapper, poet, and musician.

Harvard Law School to receive Ford Foundation Grant for public interest fellowships

HLS News - Sep 13

Harvard Law School today announced that the Ford Foundation has committed to fund a new initiative administered by the Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising, enabling 25 HLS students to work in the field of public interest law in summer 2013.

A radical fix for the republic

HLS News - Sep 12

Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at HLS and director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, is the author of “Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress—and a Plan to Stop It,” an exhaustively researched and passionately argued indictment of Capitol Hill and the money-centered daily dance between lawmakers and lobbyists. As a columnist for Atlantic Magazine and in interviews on national media, he has shared his ideas on how to stop corruption in Congress. ...

Elhauge releases e-book on Obamacare

HLS News - Sep 12

Professor Einer Elhauge ‘86 has released an e-book—titled “Obamacare on Trial” —on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act case decided by the Supreme Court. Elhauge raises points that were not aired in the courtroom, including the fact that the constitutional framers themselves had approved mandates to buy health insurance.

HLS appoints four 2012-2013 Innovation Lab Experts-in-Residence

HLS News - Sep 12

Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow has appointed Michael Fertik ’05, Neil Flanzraich ’68, Anthony Scaramucci ’89 and John Williams ’79 as HLS’s Experts-in-Residence (EIRs) for the 2012-2013 academic year, in partnership with the University-wide Harvard Innovation Lab (i-Lab). Williams served as HLS’s inaugural EIR in 2011-2012 and has been reappointed to a second term.

David Kennedy among co-founders of new Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council

HLS News - Sep 7

David Kennedy ’80, Harvard Law School’s Manley O. Hudson Professor of Law and director of the Institute for Global Law and Policy, recently joined a team of former political leaders and diplomats from across Asia in founding the new Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council (APRC), which will work to promote peace and reconciliation in the Asian region through quiet diplomacy.

Justice of the Constitutional Court of Korea speaks at HLS

HLS News - Sep 7

Young-Joon Mok LL.M. ’89, a Justice of the Constitutional Court of Korea, spoke at Harvard Law School on “Constitutional Adjudication in the Republic of Korea,” on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at an event sponsored by East Asian Legal Studies, International Legal Studies and the Korea Institute.

HLS Library unveils new Joseph Story Exhibit and Digital Suite

HLS News - Sep 6

The Harvard Law School Library has curated a collection of original documents and images from the life, legacy and world of Joseph Story, a lawyer, beloved teacher, prolific author and Supreme Court justice. The new exhibit, “A Storied Legacy: Correspondence and Early Writings of Joseph Story,” is on view in the Caspersen Room, Harvard Law School Library, through December 7, 2012. Complementing and expanding upon the exhibit is a new Joseph Story Digital Suite.

Cohen receives faculty scholar award from Greenwall Foundation

HLS News - Sep 5

The Greenwall Foundation has chosen Harvard Law School Assistant Professor I. Glenn Cohen '03, a leading expert on the intersection of bioethics and the law, to receive one of three Faculty Scholar Awards in Bioethics. The award allows recipients to conduct extensive independent research to help set public policy and standards of clinical practice.  

Eight HLS faculty ranked in "High-Impact List" for corporate governance field

HLS News - Aug 30

Eight Harvard Law School faculty members were recently ranked among the top 100 corporate governance scholars in the world, in all corporate areas, including management, law, economics, and finance. Included on the American Academy of Management’s list of 100 “high-impact scholars” were HLS Professors Lucian Bebchuk, John Coates, Reiner Kraakman, Mark Roe '75, Steven Shavell and Cass Sunstein '78. Former HLS Dean and current Visiting Professor Elena Kagan '86 and HLS Lecturer on Law Leo Strine also ...

Stephen Gageler LL.M. ’87 appointed to Australia’s High Court

HLS News - Aug 30

Stephen Gageler LL.M. ’87 was appointed to a judgeship on Australia’s High Court on Aug. 21. He joins six other judges on Australia’s most powerful court.

HLS competes in WTO moot court international finals

HLS News - Aug 29

Harvard Law School tied for third place at the international finals of the World Trade Organization (WTO) moot court competition. This was HLS’s first year participating in the competition.

Sitkoff contributes to the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act

HLS News - Aug 29

In late July, the Uniform Law Commission approved the Uniform Premarital and Marital Agreements Act (UPMAA) at its annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. Harvard Law School Professor Robert H. Sitkoff, whose primary research focus is economic and empirical analysis of the law of trusts and estates, served on the drafting committee for the Act.

Roger Fisher (1922-2012)

HLS News - Aug 27

Roger Fisher ‘48, a pioneer in the field of international law and negotiation and the co-founder of the Harvard Negotiation Project , died on August 25, 2012. A professor at Harvard Law School for more than four decades, Fisher established negotiation and conflict resolution as a single field deserving academic study and devoted his career to challenging students and colleagues alike to explore alternative methods of dispute resolution.

Gertner in NYT: ‘The right to appeal is an issue of fairness’

HLS News - Aug 23

On August 20, the New York Times’ “Room for Debate” segment explored the question “Do Prosecutors Have Too Much Power?” HLS Professor of Practice Nancy Gertner , a former judge of the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, was one of five debaters who weighed in on the topic. “You can’t bargain away your right to counsel in a guilty plea deal; you shouldn’t be allowed to bargain away your right to appeal,” writes Gertner.

Sunshine Yin ’13 receives AAUW fellowship

HLS News - Aug 23

The American Association of University Women recently awarded Sunshine Yin ’13 the Selected Professions Fellowship to support her work in the area of intellectual property law. The fellowship, which includes an $18,000 award, is given annually in areas where women’s participation has traditionally been low, such as law, medicine, architecture, engineering and mathematics.

Annette Gordon-Reed appointed to Charles Warren Professorship at HLS

HLS News - Aug 22

Harvard Law School Professor Annette Gordon Reed ’84 has been appointed to the Charles Warren Professorship of American Legal History. Gordon-Reed, a recipient of the National Book Award for Non-Fiction, the Pulitzer Prize in History, a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, The Dorothy And Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers Fellowship, and a National Humanities Medal, is also a Professor of History in Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and the Carol K. Pforzheimer ...

John Goldberg appointed to the Goldston chair at HLS

HLS News - Aug 22

Harvard Law School Professor John C.P. Goldberg has been appointed to the Eli Goldston Professorship of Law. Goldberg, an expert in tort law, tort theory and political philosophy, joined HLS as a tenured faculty member in 2008. Previously, he was Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Research at Vanderbilt University.

An enterprising organization: Helping students navigate the world of law and business

HLS News - Aug 21

For students interested in the confluence of business and law, there is one group on campus that has taken the lead in connecting them with business figures for career advice. Led for the past two years by Matthew Schoenfeld ’12, the Harvard Association for Law and Business has grown from an organization of 50 to one of more than 700 members—drawn by a robust weekly speaker series as well as other events that promote networking and mentoring, among other benefits.

Bebchuk on shareholder disclosures

HLS News - Aug 17

Harvard Law School Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M. '80 S.J.D. '84 published an op-ed in the New York Times' DealBook on Aug. 15 entitled, “Don’t Discourage Outside Shareholders.”  The op-ed is in response to a proposed rule being considered by the Securities and Exchange Commission that narrows the timeframe in which shareholders must disclose when they hold five percent or more of a company’s holdings. 

Giannini and Neuman appointed co-directors of HLS’s Human Rights Program

HLS News - Aug 17

Tyler Giannini, Clinical Professor of Law, and Gerald L. Neuman ’80, J. Sinclair Armstrong Professor of International, Foreign and Comparative Law, have been appointed co-directors of the Human Rights Program (HRP) at Harvard Law School.

Scott in NYT: The Global (Not Euro-Zone) Crisis

HLS News - Aug 16

In an Aug. 15 op-ed published in The New York Times Global Edition, Harvard Law School Professor Hal Scott weighs in on the European economic crisis and the need for international action in resolving it.

HLS Environmental Law Clinic wins victory for renewable energy

HLS News - Aug 8

For more than two years, Harvard Law School’s Emmett Environmental Law & Policy Clinic has represented a group of general contractors who specialize in renewable energy projects but were being blocked from installing solar power by a state licensing board. Led by Clinic Director and Clinical Professor Wendy Jacobs, Harvard Law School students have prevailed in a two-year battle to lift restrictions on the installation of solar power in Massachusetts.

Vermeule in TNR: Constitutional conventions

HLS News - Aug 8

In light of the late-June Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Harvard Law School Professor Adrian Vermeule '93 recently reviewed Michael J. Gerhardt's "The Power of Precedent" (Oxford University Press) for The New Republic’s online review ‘The Book.’  According to Vermeule, Gerhardt's book is a “learned overview” of the role of past decisions in today's legal system.

Harvard law clinic defends rights of those who might have none in homelands

HLS News - Aug 7

One afternoon in late July, a 39-year-old African man we will call Jean-Paul took the elevator to the third floor of Harvard Law School’s (HLS) Wasserstein Hall. He walked into the Harvard Immigration and Refugee Clinic and was greeted like a hero.

Pay it forward: The revival of student-funded fellowship

HLS News - Aug 7

As an HLS student in the early 1980s, James O’Neal dreamed of combining his passions for law and education to help at-risk kids in New York City. But times were grim for lawyers interested in public interest work. The Legal Services Corporation, the primary provider of legal aid to low-income people in the United States, was in dire straits after losing much of its federal funding, and there were few other opportunities—and little support—for public service jobs. That’s when a tightknit group of ...

IHRC report finds Qaddafi’s weapons pose threat to civilians

HLS News - Aug 6

Abandoned weapons that were once part of Muammar Qaddafi’s vast arsenal threaten civilian lives in Libya, according to a report released Aug 2 by Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC), in partnership with CIVIC and the Center for American Progress.

Cass Sunstein to rejoin Harvard Law School faculty

HLS News - Aug 3

Cass Sunstein ’78, administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), will return to the Harvard Law School faculty as Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law following his planned departure in August from the Obama Administration, Dean Martha Minow announced today.

Fried on SCOTUSblog: The June surprises—Balls, strikes, and the fog of war

HLS News - Aug 3

Harvard Law School Professor Charles Fried has written a major article analyzing the Supreme Court’s late-June decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The article, which is scheduled to appear in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, and also in a volume to be published by Oxford, has been given a rare advance publication by SCOTUSblog, which posted it on August 2.

Professor Alvin Warren gives Senate testimony on tax treatment of business entities

HLS News - Aug 3

On Wednesday, Aug. 1, Alvin C. Warren, Ropes & Gray Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance at a hearing entitled, “Tax Reform: Examining the Taxation of Business Entities,” which examined the impact of tax reform on American businesses and corporations.

Case studies developed at HLS available through new website

HLS News - Jul 31

Harvard Law School has launched a new program to develop and distribute case studies, role plays, hypothetical problems and other experiential tools for the classroom. The centerpiece of the program is a website designed as a one-stop-shop for all participant-centered teaching tools developed and sponsored by HLS.

Gersen and Vermeule on 'Delegating to Enemies' in Columbia Law Review

HLS News - Jul 31

In their recently published paper, “Delegating to Enemies” (Columbia Law Review, forthcoming), Harvard Law School professors Jacob E. Gersen and Adrian Vermeule ’93 examine the longstanding practice of leaders who choose to delegate to ideological “enemies” whose viewpoints differ greatly from their own.

Namibian women living with HIV report violations of sexual and reproductive rights

HLS News - Jul 30

Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic has co-released a report documenting the Namibian health care system’s maltreatment of women living with HIV. A joint product of the clinic, the Namibian Women’s Health Network and Northeastern Law School, the 49-page report, entitled “At the Hospital There Are No Human Rights,” was released on July 26 during the International AIDS Conference, in Washington, D.C.

Protest and Assembly Rights Project releases report on human rights violations during Occupy Wall Street

HLS News - Jul 26

Under the leadership of Harvard Law School Clinical Instructor Deborah Popowski, HLS’s International Human Rights Clinic is participating in the Protest and Assembly Rights Project, formed in January 2012. On July 25, the first report in the Protest and Assembly Rights Project series was released, calling on New York City authorities to stop the pattern of abusive policing of Occupy Wall Street protests.

Harvard Law School Media Roundup: From Gun Control to the Roberts's Court to the Arab Spring

HLS News - Jul 26

Over the past week, a number of HLS faculty members shared their viewpoints on events in the news. Here are some excerpts.

Seven Harvard Law School grads are U.S. Supreme Court clerks for 2012-2013

HLS News - Jul 26

Of the 39 law school graduates serving as clerks to the U.S. Supreme Court justices and retired justices in the 2012-2013 term, seven hail from Harvard Law School.

Gertner honored by National Association of Women Lawyers

HLS News - Jul 18

The National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) has awarded its highest honor, the Arabella Babb Mansfield Award, to Harvard Law School Professor of Practice Nancy Gertner.

Bebchuk named among most influential people in finance

HLS News - Jul 17

Professor Lucian Bebchuk has been named as one of the 100 most influential people in finance by Treasury & Risk magazine. The list prepared by the magazine puts together individuals who had significant impact on the world of finance this year.

Bostonians changing the world: Michael Stein

HLS News - Jul 17

Michael Stein ‘88, Harvard Law School visiting professor and executive director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, was one of a dozen people featured in the July 15, 2012, Boston Globe Magazine article, “12 Bostonians Changing the World.”

Joel Alicea ’13 in Public Discourse: Chief Justice Roberts and the changing conservative legal movement

HLS News - Jul 13

In a July 10 article featured in the Witherspoon Institute’s online publication Public Discourse: Ethics, Law and the Common Good, Harvard Law School student Joel Alicea ’13 assesses “Chief Justice Roberts and the Changing Conservative Legal Movement” in light of the Supreme Court’s late June decision on the Affordable Care Act.

Sachs gains tenure as professor of law at Harvard

HLS News - Jul 11

The Harvard Law School faculty has voted to promote Benjamin Sachs, a specialist in labor and workplace law, from assistant professor to professor of law – a tenured faculty position.

Greiner promoted to professor of law at Harvard

HLS News - Jul 10

Following a vote of the Harvard Law School faculty, D. James Greiner, a specialist in the application of modern quantitative thinking to legal questions, has been promoted from assistant professor to professor of law—a tenured faculty position.

Page turners: Reading groups offer students (and professors) opportunities to cover new ground

HLS News - Jul 10

Last summer, Professor Robert Mnookin ’68, an expert in the field of conflict resolution and negotiation, found himself wanting to know more about U.S.-Cuba relations. “I had an idea that there was a very interesting set of questions related to when, how and whether the two countries would ever negotiate a reconciliation,” he says. He decided to investigate by teaching a reading group—a small, 1-credit class with no exams or graded papers, where 2Ls and 3Ls are able to dig deeply into a given topic ...

Five ideas in 50 minutes: HLS Thinks Big (video)

HLS News - Jul 9

 “HLS Thinks Big,” inspired by the global TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) talks and modeled after the college’s “Harvard Thinks Big” event, was held at Harvard Law School on May 23 in Austin North. During the event, five professors presented some of their favorite topics.

Freeman in NYT: ‘The Wise Way to Regulate Gas Drilling’

HLS News - Jul 6

The op-ed "The Wise Way to Regulate Gas Drilling," by Professor Jody Freeman LL.M. ’91 S.J.D. ’95, appeared in the July 6, 2012, edition of the New York Times.

Students win start-up competition at Rethink Music conference

HLS News - Jul 5

Two HLS students, Adam Gottesfeld '12 and Joey Seiler '12, recently won Rethink Music’s Genesis Project, a startup competition that aims to encourage and support creativity in the music industry. The duo will receive $10,000 in legal services from the firm Duane Morris, additional in-kind consulting and at least three meetings with venture capitalists.

Zittrain appointed chair of FCC’s Open Internet Advisory Committee

HLS News - Jul 5

In late May, Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain '95 was appointed chair of the Open Internet Advisory Committee. The committee was called for by the Federal Communications Commission to track and evaluate the effects of the FCC’s Open Internet rules and to provide recommendations to the FCC regarding policies and practices related to preserving the open Internet.

Zittrain appointed chair of FCC’s Open Internet Advisory Committee

HLS News - Jul 5

In late May, Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain '95 was appointed chair of the Open Internet Advisory Committee. The committee was called for by the Federal Communications Commission to track and evaluate the effects of the FCC’s Open Internet rules and to provide recommendations to the FCC regarding policies and practices related to preserving the open Internet.

Media roundup: HLS Faculty analyze Supreme Court health care ruling

HLS News - Jun 29

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling on the 2010 national health care overhaul on Thursday, June 28, 2012, largely allowing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) to stand. A number of HLS faculty members offered media analysis of the Court’s ruling in the days following the ruling.

HLS faculty members react to Supreme Court health care ruling

HLS News - Jun 28

The U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling on the 2010 national health care overhaul on Thursday, June 28, 2012, largely allowing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) to stand. Several Harvard Law School faculty members weighed in on the decision.

Health care preview: Faculty weigh in before Supreme Court health care ruling

HLS News - Jun 27

The U.S. Supreme Court announces its ruling on the 2010 national health care overhaul on Thursday, June 28, 2012; a number of Harvard Law School faculty members have offered their opinions to the media in advance of the Court’s ruling.

Gertner, Steiker join legal scholars in call for Senate investigation of USDOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney

HLS News - Jun 27

Harvard Law School professors Carol Steiker ’86 and Nancy Gertner joined 13 other leading constitutional and sentencing law academics and law professors to issue a letter on June 26, asking U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee leaders to “convene a hearing at your earliest convenience to examine the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s conduct with regard to applicants for sentence commutations.”

Harvard Law School faculty contribute significantly to the list of most-cited law review articles

HLS News - Jun 26

Fourteen Harvard Law School faculty appear among the list of contributors of the most-cited law review articles (in all legal fields) just published in a study on the subject in the Michigan Law Review by Fred R. Shapiro ’80, a librarian at Yale Law School, and Michelle Pearse, a librarian at HLS.

In new book, Shugerman explores the history of judicial selection in the U.S.

HLS News - Jun 26

When Assistant Professor Jed Handelsman Shugerman was a law student at Yale, former Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Penny White spoke as a guest in one of his classes. White was a pro-death penalty Democrat who had voted in one case to overturn a death sentence. When she ran to keep her seat, conservative groups rallied against her. She ultimately lost. “Her story raised basic questions for me as a law student about the relationship between law and politics,” Shugerman says now. His interest in the ...

Dean Minow joins MacArthur board

HLS News - Jun 25

Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow has been elected to serve on the MacArthur Foundation Board of Directors. Minow, an expert on human rights and advocacy for disadvantaged populations, will join in September.

Going Global: U.S. general counsel model spreading to emerging economies

HLS News - Jun 19

Forty years ago, the position of general counsel—even within U.S. companies—was not a particularly important one, notes HLS Professor David Wilkins ’80, director of the Program on the Legal Profession, which works to bridge the gap between the academy and the world of practice. But beginning in the 1970s, and accelerating into the ’80s and ’90s, the GC role changed dramatically, “so that it has become, in my view, the most important position in the legal profession, particularly in the ...

In major Alien Tort Statute case, clinic files amicus curiae brief with U.S. Supreme Court

HLS News - Jun 19

Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic has submitted a supplemental amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of petitioners in a major Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”) case, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co . Nine eminent legal historians joined the brief as amici: William R. Casto, Charles Donahue, Robert W. Gordon, Nasser Hussain, Stanley N. Katz, Michael Lobban, Jenny S. Martinez, and Anne-Marie Slaughter.

In the driver’s seat: The changing role of general counsel

HLS News - Jun 19

At the airport in New York one day last year, Alex Dimitrief ’85 was on a call regarding a problem that his company, General Electric, faced in China. When his plane landed in London, he took a call on a different matter in Vietnam. And late that night, when he arrived in Lagos, he fielded yet another call, dealing with an issue back in the U.S. “It was an incredibly complicated day,” recalls Dimitrief ... It’s a day that illustrates the emerging role of today’s global general counsel, who may ...

Lessig in Harvard Magazine: 'A radical fix for the republic'

HLS News - Jun 19

For a decade, Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig, a mild-seeming legal scholar, pursued the intricacies of updating American copyright law to reflect the rise of the digital era, the Internet, and new means of producing and disseminating texts, music, images, and software. He felt he was making progress: “The public was getting it. Businesses were getting it. Universities. Everybody had come to the recognition that ‘There is something wrong with the existing system,’ and that it needed to ...

Institute for Global Law and Policy announces collaboration with Qatar Foundation

HLS News - Jun 18

The Institute for Global Law and Policy (IGLP) at Harvard Law School announced today that the Qatar Foundation has become a leading sponsor of the IGLP and will support a broad ranging research and faculty development program at the Institute.

Joel Alicea ’13 published in Policy Review

HLS News - Jun 18

Stanford University’s Hoover Institution recently published an article by Joel Alicea ’13 in the journal Policy Review. The article, entitled “Forty Years of Originalism: The development and future of a judicial philosophy,” was published on June 1, 2012.

Sitkoff Elected to Council of the American Law Institute

HLS News - Jun 18

The American Law Institute has elected Robert H. Sitkoff, John L. Gray Professor of Law, to join its Council. The Council serves as the governing body of the ALI, the leading independent organization in the U.S. producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law.

Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation joins with Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation in diabetes initiative

HLS News - Jun 13

The Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School will receive $981,862 over four years from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation as part of the foundation’s new Together on Diabetes initiative, officials announced June 8.

Grant Strother ’12 Awarded Fisher Sander Prize

HLS News - Jun 13

Grant Strother ’12 was the recipient of this year’s Roger Fisher and Frank E.A. Sander Prize for his paper “Resolving Cultural Property Disputes in the Shadow of the Law.” The prize is awarded annually to the best student paper on a topic related to negotiation, dispute systems design, mediation, dispute resolution, or ADR.

Palfrey and Gasser book launch: ‘Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems’ (video)

HLS News - Jun 13

Harvard Law School Professor John Palfrey ’01 and Urs Gasser LL.M. '03, lecturer on law and executive director of Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society, launched their latest book, Interop: The Promise and Perils of Highly Interconnected Systems, at a May 30 event hosted by the Berkman Center, the Harvard Law School Library and the Harvard Book Store.

The Ripple Effect: A watershed year for the Environmental Law Program (video)

HLS News - Jun 11

The scope of Harvard Law School's Environmental Law Program has grown significantly since Professor Jody Freeman LL.M. ’91 S.J.D. ’95 launched it six years ago “with the ambition of building the best environmental law and policy program in the world.” She served in 2009-2010 as White House counselor for energy and climate change, and brings that experience into the classroom. Richard J. Lazarus ’79, a leading expert in environmental and natural resources law and veteran Supreme Court advocate, ...

Rulemaking petition on political spending attracts massive support from over 250,000 comments filed with the SEC

HLS News - Jun 7

Last July, Professor Lucian Bebchuk LL.M. ’80 S.J.D. ’84 and Columbia Law School Professor Robert Jackson, Jr. co-chaired a committee of ten corporate and securities law experts that submitted a rulemaking petition to the Securities and Exchange Commission urging the Commission to develop rules to require public companies to disclose their political spending. As of the end of May 2012, the petition has attracted massive support from a record number of comments filed with the SEC.

Child Advocacy Program hosts workshop on child welfare

HLS News - Jun 6

On May 10-11, the HLS Child Advocacy Program held a Prevention & Protection Brainstorming Workshop, which brought together researchers, advocates, and practitioners in the field from around the country to discuss strategies to prevent maltreatment and protect vulnerable children. The event followed last year’s CAP conference that examined race and child welfare.  The founder and faculty director of the program, Professor Elizabeth Bartholet ’65 , spoke about the workshop and her longtime efforts to ...

Professor Mary Ann Glendon appointed to commission on religious freedom

HLS News - Jun 6

In May, Harvard Law School Professor Mary Ann Glendon, who served as the former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, was appointed to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent, bipartisan federal body that is principally responsible for reviewing the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and making policy recommendations to the president, secretary of state, and Congress.

The future of human subjects research regulation

HLS News - Jun 6

Leading experts in the fields of law, science, and medicine gathered at Harvard Law School May 18 and 19 to discuss the future of human subjects research regulation. The topic for the conference, sponsored by HLS’s Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics, was prompted by a July 2011 advanced notice of proposed rulemaking from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposing to amend the rule that has governed this research for more than 20 years.

Dean Minow congratulates the Class of 2012 (video)

HLS News - Jun 5

During Commencement on May 24, Dean Martha Minow congratulated the Harvard Law School Class of 2012 on all that they accomplished while at HLS. Minow urged graduates in their future careers not only to take problems apart and work to persuade others, but also to celebrate and extend their role as designers.

Lessig gives commencement address at John Marshall Law School

HLS News - Jun 5

Harvard Law School Professor Lawrence Lessig, director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard, gave the commencement address at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School on May 19, 2012.

On its 100th Anniversary, Paramount Pictures honors Sumner Redstone '47

HLS News - Jun 5

On the 100th anniversary of Paramount Pictures, studio employees and a handful of dignitaries gathered on Friday, June 1, 2012 to salute Sumner Redstone '47, the 89-year-old executive chairman of Viacom Inc., parent company of Paramount. The occasion included the naming of a major building on the Paramount lot after Redstone.

Harvard Law School launches new Student Information System (SIS)

HLS News - Jun 1

Recently, Harvard Law School launched a new Student Information System (SIS) to solve problems that have plagued the process of online student registration and curriculum-related activities.

Daring to be a doer: Clara Long '12

HLS News - May 31

While in college, Clara Long '12 spent a spring semester in Belém, Brazil. “That totally changed the trajectory of my life,” she said, and turned a passion for tending the environment into “something that was much more about people.” Now graduating from Harvard Law School, Long is interested in human rights, and views her education at Harvard as a way of acquiring “tools for dealing with injustice.”

Margaret Marshall named Radcliffe Medalist

HLS News - May 31

Margaret H. Marshall, senior research fellow and lecturer on law at Harvard Law School, was recently awarded the Radcliffe Institute Medal. Marshall, who is former chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court and senior counsel at Choate Hall & Stewart, LLP, gave the keynote address during the Radcliffe Day luncheon on May 25.

Rubenstein wins Sacks-Freund Award for Teaching Excellence (video)

HLS News - May 25

Professor William Rubenstein ’86, the Sidley Austin Professor of Law, is this year's winner of the prestigious Albert M. Sacks-Paul A. Freund Award for Teaching Excellence, an honor bestowed each spring by the Harvard Law School graduating class. The award recognizes teaching ability, attentiveness to student concerns and general contributions to student life at the law school.

Students honored at Class Day ceremony

HLS News - May 25

A number of Harvard Law students received special awards this year during the 2012 Class Day exercises on May 23. The honored students were recognized for their outstanding leadership, citizenship, compassion and dedication to their studies and the profession.

'Put your skills to use to define our future,' Attorney General tells class (video)

HLS News - May 24

The 82nd Attorney General of the United States, Eric H. Holder Jr., addressed the 2012 graduating class at Harvard Law School, urging the newly-minted lawyers to continue the tradition of service encouraged at Harvard Law School and to use their skills to define the country’s future.

Barney Frank ’77 addresses Harvard College graduates during Class Day (video)

HLS News - May 24

This year, Harvard’s time-honored tradition of Class Day included an interesting twist: For the first time in years, two speakers—actor, writer, and comedian Andy Samberg, and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank ’61, J.D. ’77—took turns at the outdoor dais to offer the seniors parting words of wit and wisdom.

Rajan Sonik ’12 wins pro bono service award

HLS News - May 23

Rajan Sonik ’12 is the winner of this year’s Andrew L. Kaufman Pro Bono Service Award, recognized for performing the highest number of pro bono service hours in the Class of 2012. During his time at Harvard Law School, Sonik provided over 2,500 hours of free legal services.

Harvard Law School celebrates 2012 Commencement

HLS News - May 23

Harvard Law School graduation festivities began on Class Day, Wednesday, May 23, and continued through Commencement Day on Thursday, May 24.